Perry, FL – SYP – June 22-28, 2025

A group of 15 cheerful, lively young people and their leaders from West Liberty, Ohio, arrived Sunday evening, ready for a week of service in Perry, Florida.

They divided into three teams for working at Annie’s, Ella Mae’s and Patty’s houses.

Upon arrival at Annie’s house, the first team was surprised to find a collapsed ceiling (not at the hands of MDS). Their first job was to clean up the materials and debris from this episode. Other jobs included priming OSB ceiling panels, installing a jack up beam and securing with plywood. Another day, they installed the ceiling panels and drywall beam, sanded and mudded the dining room ceiling and taped the outside cornerbeads. They sanded and installed the first sheet of kitchen floor underlayment.

The team at Ella Mae’s house worked at mudding drywall and painting. They stuck at it all week long, each day mudding drywall and painting. On the ceiling, they did texture painting and they worked on flooring. Some of the girls thoroughly cleaned the house. This job is now completed. Ella Mae and her sister were delighted with the transformation of her house.

A third team worked at Patty’s house. They finished the wall construction from last week, worked on drywall and door installation. They mudded and sanded drywall and applied floor sealer, as well as installing siding.

The young people enjoyed an evening at Keaton Beach where they saw hundreds of crabs. One evening they attended the worship service of Team Effort, another group of young people repairing houses, who share the premises of Calvary Baptist Church. They went back a second evening and shared a beautiful song as part of the worship service. One of our volunteers mentioned that interacting with Team Effort participants was a favorite part of her week. Another stated interacting with MDS staff was a blessing to her. A highlight for at least one of the girls was seeing the huge difference in the house from the beginning of the week until the end of the week.

Josie for the Perry, Florida Team